Lint cleaning apparatus



o. SHEPPARD 2,300,978

LINT CLEARING APPARATUS Nov. 3, 1942.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 30, 1940 L 7rlaba a 572-7711 ar'd 0.SHEPPARD LINT CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 50, 1940 Urlazzda SwamiPatented Nov. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LINT CLEANINGAPPARATUS Orlando Sheppard, Atlanta, Ga.

Application October 30, 1940, Serial No. 363,556

7 Claims.

teraction of said rolls serving to arrange the lint in orderly manner,thereby disengaging it from trash particles with which it may beentangled, drawing the lint and trashy matter from the conveying rollinto the pockets of a centrifugal vacuum fan operating in closeproximity to said conveying roll, throwing the lint and detached trashyparticles centrifugally from said fan into an eduction current of airflowing at an abrupt angle to the trajectory of said lint and trashyparticles, the cleaned lint passing out (if the machine in said current,and the trash particles being caught against a mote board and removedgravitationally from the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is the provision of lint cleaningapparatus comprising a brushing roll and a cylindrical centrifugal fanhaving lonparallel to the axes of said brushing roll and fan,

having its surface in close proximity to the periphery of the brushingroll and that of the fan, whereby lint collecting on said conveying rollis dragged in a thin film between said conveying rolland brushing roll,being subject to the brushing effect of the latter whereby trashparticles entangled in the lint are disengaged therefrom, the lint beingthen carried in a thin film to the region of adjacency of said conveyingroll and fan whereby both the lint and the detached foreign particlesare drawn into said fan and centrifugally thrown out therefrominto aclassifying air current in which the lint and foreign matter areseparated.

I Other objects of the invention concern details in the method as wellas in the app aratus and as will appear as the following description ofa preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the followingspecification, and throughout which the same characters of referencehave been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of lint cleaning apparatus embodying theprinciples of the present invention and illustrating principally thedriving connections between the several parts;

Figure 2 is a vertical side sectional View;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken along the staggered line 3-3 ofFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a detail in the construction ofthe collecting and conveying roll;

Figure 5 is a detail view in longitudinal section through the collectingand conveying roll; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating a mode of constructing thebrush roll.

Before adverting to a detailed description of the apparatus, it may bestated that the lint which it is contemplated to treat is the product ofany delinting machine and which comes from the machine in partiallycleaned state, but containing enough dust, pepper, and other trashyparticles to make it unfit for certain industrial purposes, and tosubstantially lower its grade and commercial value.

By the present invention, such lint is completely cleaned so that it hasthe highest market value and is adapted for industries in which only themost refined lint can be employed.

The lint cleaning apparatus comprises, in general, a casing -I havingthe opposite vertical and parallel side walls 2 and 3. This casing ispreferably of sheet metal construction, supported by angular ironframes, although the nature of the casing construction is optional andis not an essential part of the invention.

Three rotating members are employed in the line cleaning apparatus, theroll 4, which by virtue of its dual function may be referred to as thecollecting and conveying roll; the brushing roll 5; and the centrifugalvacuum fan 6.

These rotating members are mounted upon the respective shafts I, .8 and9, the ends of which are supported in the respective bearings I0, II and12 at the opposite sides of the casing, said bearings being horizontallyadjustable, as shown, so that the distance between the brushing roll andfan relatively to the rolling and conveying 1 roll may be adjustablyvaried.

The collecting and conveying roll is provided with a spiral series ofsaw teeth It, see Figure 4, the helices being arranged about one-eighthof an inch apart, each having an abrupt shoulder l4 and a slopingshoulder 15, said teeth beingarranged with their abrupt shoulders facingthe direction of rotation of the collecting and conveying roll. Thesurface of the brushing roll comprises a mass of radial wire bristlesIS. The brushing roll is arranged so that the ends of the wire bristleshave a small clearance of perhaps one-thirty-second of an inch from theends of the saw teeth l3.

The centrifugal fan comprises a drum I! having longitudinal radialspaced blades i8 extending therefrom and arranged in close proximity tothe periphery of the collecting and conveying roll.

The collecting and conveying roll 4 and the brushin roll 5 rotate inopposite directions, while the centrifugal fan 6 rotates in the samedirection as does the brushing roll. The optimum relative rates ofrotation of these several members is 500 R. P. M. for the collecting andconveying roll, 10 R. P. M. for the brushing roll, and 1200 R. P. M. forthe centrifugal fan.

The casing is divided substantially vertically into a chamber containingthe rolls and the chamber containing the fan by the division boards i9and 26, the lower part of the latter board being the adjustable winddeflector 2|. The division of the casing into these two chambers isnecessitated by the fact that the fan chamber involves pneumaticoperation and air conditions in said chamber must be controlled. Withthis end in view, the upper part of said chamber in which the upperportion of the fan revolves is substantially cut oif from the lower partof said chamber by the air cut-off boards 22 and 23 so that, due to theaction of the fan, more or less of a vacuum exists in this portion ofthe chamber. The presence of thi vacuum causes the fan pockets betweenthe blades l3 to approach the collecting and conveying roll in vacuouscondition, enabling them t draw off and receive both the lint and theforeign particles carried by the collecting and conveying roll. Theportion of the fan chamber below the cut-off boards 22 and 23 is incommunication with the lint discharge conduit 24 through which thecleaned lint is blown by the action of the fan 6. An adjustable moteboard 25 forms the lower wall of the lint discharge conduit, beneath thefan, an eduction current of air being drawn into the space 26 at thelower end of the mote board, then suffering an abrupt direction changeas it passes between the mote board and fan and out by way of the lintdischarge conduit. The space 26 can be varied in size by adjustablyswinging the wind deflector 2! about its pivotal connection 2'5. Thiscontrols the velocity of the eduction current as well as the angle ofits direction change after it enters through the space 23.

In the apparatus, as shown, the lint comes from the delinter to the lintcleaning apparatus by way of the cyclone 28, in which as much aspossible of the dust has been removed. The lint is discharged from thecyclone 28 into a feed hopper 29, which opens into the casing I throughan inlet slot 38, the latter preferably extending the full width of thecasing. The lint, together with such trash or foreign matter with whichit may be engaged or entangled, falls ravitationally upon the collectingand conveying roll 4, and is carried around against the brushing roll[6. Here the lint may form a mass 3! in the angle between the collectingand conveying roll and the brushing roll, which mass is continuouslydepleted by the dragging action of the saw teeth against its lowersurface, and which is continuously repleted by fresh lint coming in fromthe cyclone. The close proximity of the brushing roll to the surface ofthe collecting and conveying roll permits the passage of only a thinfilm or layer of lint beyond the brushing roll, and the relative speeddiiferential between the two rolls is such that the lint is subject tobrushing action by the wire bristles of the brushing roll by whichaction the lint fibers are arranged in an orderly manner and any foreignparticles with which they may be engaged or entangled are freed orloosened therefrom. After the lint and foreign particles have passedbeyond the brushing roll, they are therefore in loosened condition andready to be separated.

If the brushing roll were stationary the lint mass 3| would becomecompacted in the angle between the two rolls, and the lint would bedrawn beneath the brushing roll in a condensed" mass in which theforeign particles would be embedded. The action of the slow rotation ofthe brushing roll is to draw out the mass of lint 3| in a directionbeneath the rolls, preventing condensing of the mass and producing anopen film or layer between said rolls at the point at which the wirebristles perform their brushing action. This open nature of the massbetween said rolls assists in the detachment of the foreign particlesfrom the lint fibers.

The casing I is provided with a hinged defiector wall 32 adjacent thecollecting and conveying roll 4 and normally spaced therefrom to permitheavy foreign particles which may enter the apparatus to gravitate tothe lower part of the casing without being entrained in the lint carriedon the surface of the collecting and conveying roll. This deflector wallis made adjustable so as to vary the width of the space between itselfand the collecting and conveying roll, to the end that the current ofincoming air set up by the rotation of the collecting and conveying rollmay be controlled and undue turbulence in the lint feeding chamber 33prevented so that the lint will quietly settle on the collecting andconveying roll uniformly from end to end.

The lower end wall 34 of the casing is inclined so as to dischargewhatever foreign matter may descend upon it, into a common pile with theforeign matter discharged from the mote board.

The collecting and conveying roll 4 is underlain by a perforated screen35, the function of which is to prevent lint which may be carried aroundupon the collecting and conveying roll from dropping off and beingwasted with the trash, while at the same time permitting such trash asmay drop from the lower part of the roll to pass through theirperforations and be discharged at the lower end of the inclined end wall34. The screen 35 is made rigid by means of the longitudinal flanges 36and 31 and the end flanges 38, and it is swingably adjustable about thepivot 39 so that it can be lowered or raised at the left hand side. Thislowering or raising is made possible by the vertical slots 40 in the endplate 8 through which passes the supporting pin 4|. The screen is alsomade laterally adjustable by means of the horizontal slots 42 and 43, sothat the distance between said screen and the surface of the collectingand conveying roll at the right hand end of the screen may be varied.The lower division board 20 is also laterally adjustable by means of theslots 44 in the ends of the casing, through which slots extend the endsof U-bolts 45 mounted in the ends of the division board and havinglateral play in said slots.

With reference to the construction of the surface of the collecting andconveying roll 4, this is already known in the art and comprises ashallow spiral slot 46 turned in the surface of the roll in which acontinuous toothed ribbon 41 is seated, and the material of the rollpeened or spun against said ribbon, holding it in place.

The construction of the brushing roll is also knownin theartfcomprisinga strip of bolting 4'8, inwhich the wire bristlesli are'mounted, saidstrip being wound about and secured to a mandrel 49 forming the core ofthe roll. The-blade elements I8 of the centrifugal fan 6 are formedangular,- the base of the blades being slightly curved to fit theperiphery of the drum headers 49' and the intermediate spiders 50, saidbase portion constituting the peripheral surface of thedr'um. Th'e bladeelements are secured by cap screws 50 or the like. The radial portions I8 of the'blade elements are formed with a slight curve, as'shown, whichcreates a'much greater pull of the fan than if left straight.

In the operation of the apparatus, the lint dragged from theunder'surface of thelint mass 3| bythe teeth of the collecting andconveying roll and spread out into a loose layer between the collectingand conveying roll and the brush ing roll by the slow rotation of thelatter is brushed into an orderly arrangement by said brushing roll, andthe trash particles loosened, after which the thin layer of linttogether with the loosened foreign particles is brought into the vacuumzone of the fan6, the thinness of the charge conduit 24. A trajectory isimparted both to the lint and the foreign particles which throws theminto the eduction current, but the lint being light andbuoyant,iiscarried 'out'in' the eduction air current, while the foreignparticles being heavier or more compact, are drawn through the eductioncurrent against the mote board and separately discharged.

While I have in the above disclosed what I believe to be a preferred andpractical embodi ment of the invention, it will be understood to thoseskilled inthe art that the specific details of construction andarrangement of parts as described and illustrated, are by way of exampleand not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention definedthe appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Lint cleaning machine comprising a casing having a partition definingon one side alint-receiving chamber to which lint is fed, and on theother side a fan chamber, said partition having an opening extending'jthereacross at an intermediate height, a cylindrical roll of uniformdiameter in said receiving chamber substantially occluding said opening,the upper part of said roll being rotatable towards the upper edge ofsaid opening, said roll being densely clothed with teeth having lintcatching portions facing in its direction of rotation and passing theupper edge of said opening with small clearance, the cylindrical surfaceof said roll between said teeth extending substantially to the base ofsaid teeth, a centrifugal drum-type fan in said fan chamber havingradial blades, defining chambers between them, said fan rotating in theopposite direction to said roll with its blade edges in close proximityto said teeth in that region of said roll exposed at said opening, alint discharge suction conduit communicating with said fan chamber onthe side of said fan opposite said opening, and s located with respectto said blade chambers as to evacuate them, the sides of said fanchamber enclosing the upper arc ofsaid fan from said suctionconduit tosaid opening in substantially air-ti-ght'manner, for maintainingin saidblade chambers the vacuum induced by said suction conduit whereby saidfan in the region of said roll will suck lint and trash .from said rollteeth into said blade chambers, the lower part of said fan chamberadjacent said opening being provided with an atmospheric air inlet fromwhich said suction conduit draws a cross current of air tangent to thelower arc of said fan,'into which cur rent lint and trash are drawncentrifugally by said fan and separately classified.

I 2. Lintjcleaning' machine as claimed inclaim 1, including means forfeeding dirty lint tothe inlet'of said lint chamber in a vehicle of air,and an adjustable deflector within said casing for directin'g thestreamof dirty-lint laden air upon said toothed roll.

3. Lint cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1, including a perforatedscreen beneath said toothed roll and in close proximity thereto, permitting gravitational fall therethrough of detached trash, but retainingthe lint layer upon said toothed roll, saidscreen being slidably andpivotabl y adjustable with respect to said toothed roll.

4. Lint cleaning machine comprising a casing having a partition definingon one side a lint-receiving chamber to which lint is fed, and on theother side a fan chamber, said partition having an opening extendingthereacross at an intermediate height, arch in said receiving chambersubstantially occluding said opening, the upper part of said roll beingrotatable towards the upper edge of said opening, said roll beingdensely clothed with teeth having lint catching portions facing in itsdirection of rotation and passing the upper edge of said opening withsmall clearance, a centrifugal drum-type fan in said fan chamber havingradical blades, defining chambers between them, said" fan rotating inthe opposite direction to said roll with its blade edges in closeproximity to said teeth in that region of said roll exposed at saidopening, a lint discharge suction conduit communicating with said fanchamber on the side of said fan opposite said opening, and so locatedwith respect to said blade chambers as to evacuate them, the sides ofsaid fan chamber enclosing the upper arc of said fan from said suctionconduit to said opening in substantially air-tight manner, formaintaining in said blade chambers the vacuum induced by said suctionconduit whereby said fan in the region of said roll will suck lint andtrash from said roll teeth into said blade chambers, the lower part ofsaid fan chamber adjacent said opening being provided with anatmospheric air inlet from which said suction conduit draws a crosscurrent of air tangent to the lower arc of said fan, into which currentlint and trash are drawn centrifugally by said fan and separatelyclassified, said casing including adirty lint inlet above said toothedroll,

termediate height, a roll in said receiving chamber substantiallyoccluding said opening, the upper part of said roll being rotatabletowards the upper edge of said opening, said roll being densely clothedwith teeth having lint catching portions facing in its direction ofrotation and passing the upper edge of said opening with smallclearance, a centrifugal drum-type fan in said fan chamber having radialblades, defining chambers between them, said fan rotating in theopposite direction to said roll with its blade edges in close proximityto said teeth in that region of said roll exposed at said opening, alint discharge suction conduit communicating with said fan chamber onthe side of said fan opposite said opening, and so located with respectto said blade chambers as toevacuate them, the-sides of said fan chamberenclosing the upper arc of said fan from said suction conduit to saidopening in substantially air-tight manner, for maintainin in said bladechambers the vacuum induced by said suction conduit whereby said fan inthe region of said roll will suck lint and trash from said roll teethinto said blade chambers, the lower part of said fan chamber adjacentsaid opening being provided with an atmospheric air inlet from whichsaid suction conduit draws a cross current of air tangent to the lowerarc of said fan, into which current lint and trash are drawncentrifugally by said fan and separately classified, said casingincluding a dirty lint inlet above said toothed roll and a brush rollbetween said inlet and said opening, tangent to said toothed roll,having the lower part rotating in the same direction as said toothedroll for brushing the lint layer passing between said rolls therebyloosening the trash from the lint, said brush roll rotating at a slowerspeed than said toothed roll, and distributing the lint between saidrolls.

6. Lint cleaning machine comprising a casing having a partition definingon one side a lintreceiving chamber to which lint is fed, and on theother side a fan chamber, said partition having an opening extendingthereacross at an intermediate height, a roll of uniform diameter insaid receiving chamber substantially occluding said opening; the upperpart of said roll being rotatable toward thev upper edge of saidopening, said roll being densely clothed with teeth having lint catchingportions facing in its direction of rotation and passing the upper edgeof said opening with small clearance, the cylindrical surface of saidroll between said teeth extending to the base of said teeth definingwith said teeth shallow lint-receiving channels, and a vacuum fan insaid fan chamber having radial blades defining vacuum chambers betweenthem, said fan rotating in the opposite direction to said roll with itsblade edges in close proximity to said teeth in that region of said rollexposed at said opening, and a lint discharge suction conduitcommunicating with said fan chamber on the side of said fan oppositesaid opening and so located with respect to said blade chambers as toevacuate them.

7. Lint cleaning machine comprising a casing having a partition definingon one side a lintreceiving chamber to which lint is fed, and on theother side a fan chamber, said partition having an opening extendingthereacross at an intermediate height, a roll of uniform diameter insaid receiving chamber substantially occluding said opening, the upperpart of said r011 being rotatable toward the upper edge of said opening,said roll being densely clothed with lint catching teeth and passing theupper edge of said opening with small clearance, the cylindrical surface01 said roll between said teeth extending to th base of said teethdefining a space of substantially tooth height between said surfac andthe upper edge of said opening, a vacuum fan in said fan chamber havingradial blades defining vacuum chambers between them, said fan rotatingin the opposite direction to said roll with its blade edges in closeproximity to said teeth in that region of said roll exposed at saidopening, and a lint discharge suction conduitv communicating with saidfan chamber on the side of said fan opposite said opening and solocatedwith respect to said blade chambers as to evacuate them.

ORLANDO SHEPPARD.

